The Information and Technology Services department officially moved from Lawrence Lee Pelletier Library to Murray Hall, according to an Aug. 8 MyAllegheny post. The decision was floated to members of the IT department in December 2021.
The departure has primarily been spread by word of mouth. The LITS tab on My Allegheny leads to a box informing those in search of technical support that the Library Services and IT services have split and are now considered different departments, with a note that the information available on the page is subject to change in the coming weeks.
However, the IT department and the Library services department are not listed as having been split under the Pelletier Library tab on My Allegheny. When someone searches for the library in My Allegheny, they are taken to a link that leads to Library Services. Clicking on this link leads to an information box, which reads “LITS staff can be reached at [email protected] or (814) 332-3768” along with the library’s summer hours.
Inside the library is an information board by the Library Services Desk — previously the InfoDesk — informing library patrons that IT services has moved, with an image of Murray Hall pasted below.
Although the shift entails that Library Services is now its own department as well, both Director of Library Services Aimee Reash and Provost and Dean of the Faculty Angela Haddad declined to comment on its position at this time.
Technology Manager Drew McMillin said that the move from the Pellitier to Murray has not greatly affected his job.
“Only three people had to physically move, it’s been business as usual,” McMillin said. “We’re doing the same stuff out of a different spot.”
The IT department was housed in Murray Hall about four or five years ago, McMillin said, so there was less of an adjustment period for the system.
“We just went back to how it was before,” McMillin said.
Before the move, the IT department was housed in the library basement, and patrons were not able to ask for help directly. The move from Pellitier to Murray has made IT a lot more accessible to the general public.
Stephen Palmer, ’25, an IT employee who worked in the department last year, said that the biggest changes he has noticed in moving from the library to Murray Hall are in the ways that the IT department takes requests.
“Before the move, if someone had a technology issue, they would have to go through the formal request process to get a support ticket put in, and then an IT employee would be asked to fix the issue,” Palmer said.
There are still links on My Allegheny under the Library Services tab which give the option of filling out a support ticket. Clicking on these links takes you to the Web Help Desk site. Above the box asking you to log in with your Allegheny username and password, the ITS number is listed with the option to call for assistance instead of filling out a support ticket.
It seems that people are moving towards this new system of requesting help without much of an issue.
“People just walk in,” Palmer said.
Another change that Palmer noted was the addition of designated phones for the IT department.
“It’s led to a lot more work,” Palmer said.
McMillin said he thinks there is a chance that the IT department may one day physically return to Pellitier, but he does not think that IT services and Library Services will ever go back to being a blended group.
“There are several buildings (on campus) that are pegged to be torn down, and Murray Hall is one of them, so there’s talk of adding more offices to the library,” McMillin said.
In either case, McMillin is excited for the technology upgrades coming to campus.
“We have a network vendor coming in that’s overhauling our network so it should be a lot faster,” McMillin said.
Overall, McMillin wants the students to know that the IT department is “here and ready to help.”
If you or someone you know requires technical assistance, the number to call is now 814-332-2755. Calling the old InfoDesk number will now forward to ITS.